One large company is cutting Pittsburgh healthcare jobs.

West Penn Allegheny Health System recently announced that it will cut about 213 full-time equivalent positions, accounting for the second round of layoffs at the Pittsburgh area's second-largest hospital network in six months.

Officials reported that the layoffs will affect each of the system's six hospitals and corporate offices, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times. Both rounds of layoffs have amounted to the elimination of 398 full-time positions since July 2009.

"This is a very difficult decision for our organization, but a necessary action given the economic challenges that we and all healthcare providers locally and throughout the country are facing in the current recession," spokesman Dan Laurent said, adding that very few positions eliminated were related to direct patient care.

West Penn Allegheny Health System, which is second in size only to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, currently employs about 13,000 workers and has reported financial troubles for the past several years.

At the end of last year, West Penn Allegheny Health System announced that it had posted a $4.2 million quarterly gain, but suffered an operating loss of $4.1 million.

Not counting these layoffs, Pittsburgh's healthcare industry has remained strong, despite the economic recession.

The city's education and health services industry employed 237,900 workers during November 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 236,900 workers during October and a .8 percent increase from the previous year.